


Something New Is Upon Us; And Yet Nothing Is Ever New

by indigorose50



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Explaining Things To Children, Family, Fluff, Gen, Jewish Character, Jewish Holidays, Pre-Relationship, Rosh HaShana | Jewish New Year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-03 19:34:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12153381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigorose50/pseuds/indigorose50
Summary: Bessie laments not being able to hold a Rosh Hashanah dinner with her family. The kids step in to cheer her up, and maybe learn a bit about the holiday themselves!(or, "If Lazytown can have Two Christmas episodes, it can stand One Jewish character")





	Something New Is Upon Us; And Yet Nothing Is Ever New

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year, everyone! 
> 
> I can hardly be the only Jewish person in this fandom but I know we're not a large percent. Hopefully this teaches some of you about Rosh Hashanah! I just came back from services and it felt very important that I write this. I'll understand if it doesn't grab you. Either way, enjoy the Sportarobbie ;)
> 
> Also, Bessie is right when she says every family celebrates differently. I based her family on mine almost word for word.

The kids were outside playing baseball when Bessie Busybody walked by. It was a beautiful Fall day. Leaves were slowly sailing on a light breeze and landing about the sports field.

“Hello, everyone!” Bessie called as she passed, “Happy New Year!”

Confused, the children all looked at each other. “It’s not New Year’s yet,” Stingy said.

“Not for a few more months,” Trixie agreed.

Bessie stopped and chuckled, “It’s the _Jewish_ New Year, Rosh Hashanah.”

“Rush Hashananah?” Ziggy repeated, lowering his baseball bat.

“Close enough. Our calendar is a little different from everyone else’s so our year starts at a different time.”

Stephanie, who had been tossing a ball back and forth in her hands, suddenly looked excited, “Do you set off fireworks?!”

“No no,” Bessie chuckled again, “Although my mother used to tell people we threw matzo balls in the air at midnight.”

By now, the game was forgotten and all the kids were clustered around Bessie. All of them kept trying to say “Rosh Hashanah” correctly, which was easier for some than for others.

“So if you don’t do fireworks,” Pixel said after a few minutes of this, “How _do_ you celebrate Rosh Hashanah?”

“Well, every family has its own traditions,” explained Bessie, “My family always has a big dinner that starts just before sundown. That way we can all be together when Rosh Hashanah official begins.”

“When is your family coming then?” Trixie looked around as if expecting aunts and uncles to come popping out of bushes.

Bessie’s smile drooped slightly, “Oh, well, they can’t make it. They haven’t been able to for years now. Everyone is too busy to travel out this far.” She pulled out her phone and started fiddling with it, not looking at the five of them, “I was just going to have some brisket tonight and maybe say a few blessings.”

The friends all exchanged glances. Eventually, everyone’s eyes settled on Stephanie. With a grin, she nodded. “Bessie?” Stephanie said, stepping forward, “Can we come over for dinner tonight?”

Bessie’s eyes widened, “ _Really_? Would you really want to come?” All the kids nodded. Bessie beamed, “Then of course! Oh, I have so much to do now that I’m hosting a proper dinner. Oh dear, I better run to the store. And I’ll need to bring in the extra chairs from the den…” She continued muttering to herself, typing notes into her phone. All the while a smiled never left her face.

“What can we do to help?” Stephanie asked.

“If you could pick some apples, that would help a lot!” Bessie said.

“Apples?”

“Yes! We eat apples and honey before dinner to wish for a sweet new year! The theme of the whole dinner is sweet! And make sure to invite your uncle, Stephanie. And Sportacus, if he’s free. Oh, and Robbie Rotten as well.”

“Robbie _Rotten_?” All the kids chorused.

Bessie nodded, still typing into her phone. “Of course! We’re celebrating a new year. We shouldn’t leave anyone out! There’s always room at the table for more.” She began walking away. “Make sure you bring enough apples for everyone! Oh I have so much to do. This is so _exciting_!”

And with that, Bessie was gone.

“Do you think she’ll let us do some fireworks anyway?” Ziggy asked. Everyone laughed, though Ziggy seemed serious.

“All right, gang!” Trixie grabbed hold of Stingy’s wrist, “Stingy and I will go invite Robbie.”

“I’ll go tell Uncle!”

Ziggy waved his hand in the air, “I’ll tell Sportacus so we can start picking apples!”

“I’ll get the ladder!” Pixel said. All five of them raced away from the sports field.

The town became a hive of activity. Bessie kept sending people out to the store to grab last minute things while she stayed in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. Sportacus was elated to be included in the holiday. He and the kids picked almost two dozen apples. Bessie said that was _way_ too many for eight people but seemed happy nonetheless. No one heard from Robbie all day.

At 6pm, everyone arrived at Bessie’s house. They were helping her set the table when there was a knock at the door. Bessie opened it to find Robbie on her doorstep. He looked flustered.

“Am I too early? Too late? Is it tomorrow? Did I miss it?”

“You’re just in time!” Bessie said, clapping her hands. She got on her tip toes to kiss Robbie on both cheeks, “ _Shanah tovah_ , Robbie!”

Robbie looked no less calm after that. He smiled sheepishly and skirted into the dining room. Everyone was just taking their seats. Sportacus made eye contacted with Robbie and patted the chair beside him. Robbie gratefully took the spot. While Bessie gathered more things from the kitchen, the guests munched on the apples and honey. Sportacus only at the apple slices. Robbie only ate small spoonfuls of honey. Stephanie rolled her eyes at the pair of them.

Finally, Bessie stood at the head of the table where a loaf of bread sat on a cutting board. Seeing this, Milford tapped his water glass with his fork to call for silence. Except he nearly tipped the glass over. Pixel caught it just in time.

“Welcome, everyone!” Bessie began, “It’s wonderful to have you all here. I know this was very last minute. Thank you for helping me celebrate one of my favorite holidays. I haven’t had a dinner like this in…” she wiped a tear from her eye, “Well, a long time. My blood family might not be here, but I consider _all_ of you my family too!”

She looked at each of them in turn. Stephanie, Milford, Stingy, Pixel, Trixie, Ziggy, Sportacus, and Robbie were all smiling at her. Ziggy had honey on his cheeks. Someone had snuck an apple slice onto Robbie’s plate. They really all felt like family. She was so happy to be able to share in this tradition with them.

With a sniff, she went on, “Tonight we will be having matzo ball soup, brisket, chicken, potatoes, kugel, and roasted carrots.”

Stingy waved a hand in the air, “What’s kugel?”

“It’s a traditional Jewish dish from central Europe made with egg noodles, cottage cheese, and sometimes raisins.”

Everyone stared at Robbie, who turned red at the attention. He cleared his throat, “What? I did some research before I got here. I didn’t know what to expect!”

Bessie beamed, “It’s okay, Robbie! You are correct! I used my mother’s recipe so there aren’t any raisins in mine.” She picked up a bread knife. “Before we eat, I wanted to say the blessing for the bread. If that’s okay with everyone?” She suddenly looked nervous.

“Go ahead, Bessie,” Sportacus said encouragingly. Everyone nodded.

Bessie positioned her knife over the challah bread before pausing again. “It’s so strange,” she mused in a quiet voice, “I’ve never done this before. My grandfather always did the blessing…” she shook her head and began cutting the bread, saying “ _Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam…_ ”

When she had done the blessing, both breads were cut and passed around. Sportacus grabbed a piece of the raisin challah for himself and also a plain piece, which he gave to Robbie without being asked. The soup was passed around, then the meats and kugel and carrots. Everyone ate, laughed, and talked. The kids asked Bessie for stories about her family. Sportacus and Robbie kept wordlessly eating off one another’s plates. Sportacus took the carrots that Robbie had somehow ended up with and Robbie ate the brisket Sportacus couldn’t finish.

As dinner came to a close, Stephanie and Milford started cleaning up plates, insisting Bessie sit and relax. She told the others about the _shofar_ , the ram’s horn blown during Rosh Hashanah services, and about the year her grandmother accidentally added soap to the matzo ball soup by mistake. When Stephanie and Milford reappeared, carrying desserts, everyone was laughing at Bessie’s story.

Dessert was apple cake (“You all brought me so many I _had_ to use them all _somehow_!”), orange-honey cookies, fresh fruit, and a chocolate babka.

“It takes all day to make so I had to buy one from the bakery,” Bessie admitted. Robbie’s eyes went wide when he saw the babka. He didn’t seem to care it wasn’t homemade. He ate almost half of it by himself. The kids loved the cake and cookies and amused themselves by throwing fruit to Sportacus for him to catch in his mouth. Robbie was hit with one or two grapes but was enjoying himself too much to care. He even tosses Sportacus a pineapple chunk, which Sportacus caught with a wink.

When the feasting slowed down, Milford stood up and raised his water glass. “To Ms. Busybody!” he toasted, “For bringing us together and teaching us about her culture! Without you, dear, we wouldn’t have had this wonderful time together. Thank you for having us!”

Everyone cheered in agreement and raised their own glasses. Tears trailed down Bessie’s face as she lifted hers as well.

“ _Shanah tovah_!” Milford tried saying. Everyone repeated the phrase, some better than others. Bessie couldn’t help but laugh, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve as her family toasted her. It was easily the sweetest Rosh Hashanah she could remember having.

**Author's Note:**

> (the title is from Barbara Kingsolver's poem "For Peace: Small Wonder")


End file.
